Government Turns its Back on Committee Report to Save Agricultural Research Centres
Sept. 22nd, 2026, Ottawa – The Agriculture Union and the National Farmers Union are deeply dismayed by the federal government’s lack of action on a unanimous committee report, which recommended concrete measures to support food sovereignty, agricultural research and food safety in Canada. The report, entitled Science in Canadian Agriculture and the Closure of Research Centres, was tabled in Parliament last May. The report made 20 recommendations, among which were to reconsider the closure of seven Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research farms and centres, and to cancel the planned closure of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) food allergy testing lab in Longueuil, QC.
“The government’s response to this report today allows them to close the book and move on as if nothing has happened,” says Milton Dyck, National President of the Agriculture Union, which represents nearly 7,000 employees of AAFC and CFIA from coast to coast. “But they’re moving on and moving away from hundreds of years of public agricultural research. They’re moving on from hundreds of good jobs in farming communities. And they’re turning their backs on 3 million Canadians who suffer from food allergies and who depend on the work of the CFIA lab in Longueuil.”
“We still believe there is time to save these AAFC research facilities,” asserts Dyck. “Sadly, the research technicians working there, our members, have moved on to other jobs. But the facilities still exist. The farms and the equipment are still there. In the case of the Nappan and Lacombe research farms, the livestock are still there. We urge the government to act on the recommendations of this report and to reopen these crucial research farms.”
“Long-term organically managed field trials and regionally adapted systems research at these facilities are national scientific assets that cannot be recreated once lost,” says Phil Mount, Vice President of Policy of the National Farmers Union. “Minor savings from these closures tell you everything you need to know about how little this government and Minister understand and value return on investment in research, or resilience in regional farming communities. AAFC ‘savings’ will be on the backs of farmers, who will lose either regionally adapted seed breeding capacity, or regional trials of livestock forages, crop rotations, soil health, organic and regenerative agriculture. The private sector has no incentive to fill those research gaps in the way the government is claiming. Maintaining public sector agricultural research capacity is crucial and entirely possible—buy 1 fewer F-35 from the Americans and we can keep these stations open for the next 20 years.”
For media requests, please contact:
Aaron Lakoff, Communications Officer for the Agriculture Union: 343-596-4400; LakoffA@psac-afpc.com
Phil Mount, VP-Policy, National Farmers Union: 343-262-5911; vp-policy@nfu.ca
